Georgia’s Economy Minister joins in on Southern Gas Corridor advisory council meeting in Baku

Georgia’s Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili is paying an official visit in Azerbaijan to attend the 4th ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) advisory council in Baku and to meet local authorities.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for Georgia as it ensures Azerbaijani gas delivery through Georgia and Turkey to Europe. The gas pipeline will be connected to the Trans –Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic pipelines (TAP), through which gas from the Shah Deniz field will reach the European market, reports Georgia’s Ministry of Economy.

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) 4th ministerial meeting was opened by President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

During the ministerial meeting Aliyev and Kumsishvili met each other and talked about the existing close partner relations between the countries.

Kumsishvili highlighted that Azerbaijan had become one of Georgia’s largest trade partners in recent years and also the share of investments from Azerbaijan was taking larger scope.

Kumsishvili emphasised important joint projects implemented by Georgia and Azerbaijan such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, the Southern Gas Corridor, China’s One Road-One Belt and other projects.

Kumsishvili congratulated Aliyev on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and said that Georgia was also celebrating 100 years since the country gained independence from Russia in 1918. To mark this occasion Kumsishvili invited Aliyev to Georgia to attend the celebrations of May 26.

During the ministerial meeting Kumsishvili also met Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak and his counterpart from Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev.